


I want honey on my table

by charons_boat



Series: The Expansion Packs: Song Stories Edition [10]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Alternate Universe - Magic, Bees, Butterflies, Debts, Honey, Potions, Settling Debts, Wasps, Witches, cherry branch, incurring debts, magick
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-31
Updated: 2020-05-31
Packaged: 2021-03-03 06:53:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24466771
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/charons_boat/pseuds/charons_boat
Summary: No one ever went to Rem's house, because no one could find it. Even then, anyone who did find it certainly didn't have the audacity to murder his bees. That is, until a certain redhead followed a strange bee and nearly got himself killed.
Relationships: Lucius Lu & Verne Langdon, Rem Barbeau | Beryl & Lucius Lu
Series: The Expansion Packs: Song Stories Edition [10]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1765816
Comments: 2





	I want honey on my table

**Author's Note:**

  * For [ihopeitsfriday](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ihopeitsfriday/gifts).



> my babies. for more info on what rem + the others look like, you can read space fic [Things change (don't let it get to you)]! it's 32k of lots of fun i had fun writing that fic woo and i had fun w this

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

To be completely honest, I didn't expect that my day would start out this way. For one thing, next to no one knew where I lived. It was a small cottage in the middle of the woods, though I'd built it myself so I could fit through all the doorways despite being 6'9". My small garden was full of useful herbs and rare plants that were difficult to find and harder to properly care for. I had multiple hives of bees and wasps: the bees made honey for my potions and food, and the wasps protected the bees and got some honey in return, and both the beehives' and wasp nests' inhabitants kept me updated on the state of the plants in my garden and were trained to alert me to intruders. The cow and the sheep roamed the woods and came back every night to sleep. It was my own little oasis where I could be alone and do whatever I wanted, because it was secluded in the middle of nowhere and was also heavily warded. 

However, I did also have a hive of demonic bees that produced a thick, black honey which was very dangerous to eat raw but very useful for potions and spells. They were very conspicuous and might've been what led the redhead and the half-foot taller noiret to my hives. The noiret wasn't doing anything aside from standing with his arms crossed and watching the redhead. The redhead was the problem. He was currently swinging his hands through a swarm of very agitated bees. The wasps that tried to attack him all fell to the ground dead. 

"Stop! Stop attacking him! Workers, go back to your hives," I shouted. I stormed over to the pair and smirked at the way the redhead's expression fell more and more as I drew closer to him. I saw that his hands were dripping amber and gold, and I realized that the swarm had been smaller than usual. "Did you fucking vaporize my bees just to get their honey?! You sick fuck!" The noiret stepped in front of him with a dark expression. 

"Do not talk to my master this way," he demanded. "You will regret it." I scoffed. 

"I suppose you're used to being able to scare people into submission, hmm? It won't work on me. I happen to be a lot bigger than you, even if you do have more muscle, and I'm certainly more powerful than either of you. Explain yourselves before I kill the both of you in return for what you've done to my bees." The redhead cringed and held up his hands, putting them back down when the honey began to drip down his arms. 

"I-I didn't think anyone lived here. We couldn't see anyone, and- okay that's not the truth. We didn't think anyone was home. We thought we could just get some honey and leave before anyone saw us," the redhead explained sheepishly, sounding guilty. "This is, uhm, Verne Langdon. He's my familiar. I'm a witch. My name is Lucius Lu." I took a long look at both of them. 

"A wolf. Impressive. And you… you're from an influential family, aren't you? But you aren't the best at magick, and everyone knows that honey enhances spells and potions, so you thought you'd just come get some, right," I asked. He nodded and turned his gaze to the ground, blushing heavily. "You followed the big black bees, didn't you? They have a very dark aura that even humans can feel." He nodded again, and I sighed heavily. "Those bees are demonic. If you'd have tried to do to them what you did to my normal bees, you wouldn't have any flesh on your hands. There's a very specific way to handle those bees and their honey, and I'm not sure you would've been able to keep up whatever shields you had if you'd gone through that pain. Even if the demonic honey hadn't killed you, the wasps likely would've."

"I… I didn't know. I'm so sorry. I was upset when the black ones disappeared, but now I'm glad. I- how can I repay you for what I've done today," Lucius asked. 

"First, I'm taking this honey and putting it in a jar for you. I'd give it back to the bees but I don't know where your hands have been. Then, I'm taking care of my bees and my wasps. You two will sit on my steps while I do that. When I get back, we'll discuss what kinds of trees grow around your house," I told him. He nodded and followed me as I walked back towards my house. I told them to wait outside while I got a jar, and it took a good half minute to find a small one without any cracks in it. I dropped the little ones a lot or held them too tightly. When I got back outside, I filled the jar with the honey that covered the witch's hands before covering it with the lid. "Now, I assume you either know how to use this or have someone who can properly teach you?" I handed him the jar, and he hesitated before shaking his head. I sighed heavily. "We'll discuss that too. Now, sit on my steps and don't move." Lucius nodded and sat on one of the little stairs at the end of the walkway that led to my house. Verne followed suit after a moment of hesitation. 

I walked back inside the house and looked through my jars of honey for the purest batch I could find before walking out the side door and approaching the hives. The bees were all sitting on the outside of the hive boxes, waiting for me to return and help them. When I unscrewed the cap and set it down, the bees immediately set to work transferring it inside the hives' combs, and I made sure to make note of which ones took the most honey. I wouldn't be harvesting from them in a while. I turned to the wasps and asked how much damage they'd taken. I sighed heavily when they told me they'd lost nearly an entire nest. I walked back inside and brought the wasps their own jar of honey. They thanked me and set to work themselves. I made sure that the bees and wasps understood that they weren't to mess with each other's jars before walking back to where Lucius and Verne were sitting glumly. 

"Okay, Lucius," I said as I sat down. "Would I be correct in assuming that your home either has an abundance of cherry trees or that there are many butterflies around the flowers your mother and grandmother likely grow?" He nodded and swallowed. 

"Correct on both. The cherry trees were a gift from an ancestor's suitor and are very old. Grandmother planted the flowers that mother takes care of now, and there are butterflies everywhere right now," he told me. 

"I thought so. For what you did to the bees and the wasps, I'll need one of the branches from the oldest cherry tree you have. If you want me to tutor you in magick, I'll need at least a few of the butterflies around your house. The rarer the better," I told him. He bit his lip. 

"Mother won't be happy," he whispered. I shook my head. 

"I doubt she will be, but you are indebted to me. If you were to die before repaying your debt, it would pass onto her as what I assume is your closest blood relation," I said, turning the statement into a question as I got into things I was less sure of. Lucius nodded, and I continued. "She'll want to settle the debt as soon as possible. You seem very young so you might not understand so well, but a lot of people know who I am. There's a reason very few try to seek me out." Something seemed to click all of a sudden because Lucius looked up at me suddenly, his eyes wide. 

"You're at those meets Mother goes to! Like the farmer's market but for witches! Verne, he's the one that makes all the poisons Mother gets!" He looked back at me when I started talking again. 

"You're correct. She also buys healing potions from me, though. I make beneficial potions and wards more often than I make harmful ones. She's probably used one of the healing potions on you by now, even if you didn't realize it," I told him. He was silent for a moment before nodding. 

"You said she'd want to get the debt cleared as soon as possible," Lucius asked. I nodded, and he stood up. Verne did too after a moment. "Okay. Let's go then. It's not too far away." He started walking away and Verne followed while I hung back a moment to tell the wasps to stay on guard while I was gone. I caught up quickly and walked in silence with them. Lucius tried to start conversation a few times, but I had nothing else to say and Verne seemed to be upset about something--probably my yelling at Lucius--so he stayed silent as well. 

His mother was in the garden when we approached their house, and her face went white as a sheet when she saw me. She walked over quickly while wiping her hands on her apron. She stopped in front of us, and I saw Lucius's face fall. 

"Hi, Mom. Uhm, we need to give this guy a branch from our oldest cherry trees and some of the butterflies," he said; the tone of his voice displayed how nervous he was. 

"How did you manage to indebt yourself to a Barbeau," his mother demanded. She was obviously trying to control her temper and stay rational. 

"I killed some of his bees and wasps," her son muttered in response as he rubbed the back of his neck. 

"Oh dear," she mumbled. 

"To be fair, only the cherry branch is for the debt. The butterflies are so I can tutor him in magick, if he wants me to," I told his mother. She sighed and gestured for us to follow her. 

"Let's just focus on figuring out which of those monstrous things is the oldest. We can figure out the butterflies later."

I had to admit that their home really was very beautiful.

**Author's Note:**

> i'm on twt @catfacekathryn


End file.
